


After The Dundies

by DepressedDaisy



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Denial, Episode: s02e01 The Dundies, F/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Season 2, aka typical s2 jam stuff, missing moment, no beta we die like men, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29204265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedDaisy/pseuds/DepressedDaisy
Summary: The morning after the Dundies, Pam wakes up hungover and embarrassed, and wonders just what she did last night, just how much she said, and just how mortified she should be.
Relationships: Pam Beesly/Jim Halpert, Roy Anderson/Pam Beesly
Kudos: 13





	After The Dundies

**Author's Note:**

> 'Cause the fanfiction starts and then it's like second episode!

It was about 11 am when she woke up. Which was 4 hours later than usual, so that was Pam’s first warning.

Then, when she tried to get up, she was hit with a terrible headache, some nausea, and last night’s memories, and it all came back to her.

_Oh, God._

Roy wasn’t next to her, and, judging by the time, he’d probably already gotten up. Maybe he went shopping or something, because she didn’t hear him around the house, either.

She stretched a little and tried to shake off the hangover – as well as the embarrassment. Unfortunately, that stuck with her – no matter how much she willed it, she’d still made a fool of herself in front of all her coworkers. She remembered drinking way more than she should’ve – so much so she remembered a waitress refusing to serve her and oh boy was that dignified – and, well, there wouldn’t be a problem with that – it was her night off, and if she had to endure the Dundies, and without Roy, what was keeping her from a good time, right? – except it made her act more ridiculous than she had since high school.

However… Looking back on it… She was embarrassed, sure, as anyone who’d ever cheered for Ping should’ve, but she also remembered having a great time, which was rare enough for her to be happy about it, no matter the circumstances. It was also possibly the only Dundies she had ever enjoyed herself in, so that was cool.

Then, as she was about to get up and take a shower, her phone rang, and looking at the caller ID brought back a whole new memory.

Jim.

Oh, no. She had… They hadn’t… No, that didn’t count, right? It wasn’t a real kiss. She was drunk, and she’d just meant to kiss his cheek, and he turned, and those didn’t really count, did they? It was the sort of kiss you give your aunt! It was an aunt-kiss! Aunt-kisses don’t count! She did not cheat on her fiancé over an aunt-kiss!

For better or for worse, she decided to take the call. If Jim said anything, she could figure out if it meant anything. For him, that is. It certainly didn’t mean anything for her – it _couldn’t_ mean anything for her. Maybe she was even remembering it wrong. She’d see him on Monday, sure, but, hey, if he was calling now…

‘Good morning, Beesly.’ She heard through the line, and, no matter what else was going on, he was still Jim, still her best friend, and his voice still made her smile.

‘Not so sure about good, but, yeah, morning, Halpert.’ Pam replied, rubbing her head as if that would suffice her ache.

‘Yeah, that’s why I called. Figured you’d be nursing that hangover right about now, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.’ Putting all worries aside, Pam was touched Jim actually cared enough to check on her after a rough night. Her mind briefly wondered to where Roy was and what he’d gotten up to last night.

‘That’s sweet. Yeah, I’m fine. Just a headache, and a little motion sickness, and, well… shame.’ Pam admitted, looking down reflexively, even if Jim wasn’t in the room with her.

‘C’mon, you have nothing to be embarrassed about! You were great, last night!’ he assured her, and Pam could hear the laughter in his voice. She rolled her eyes, not caring that he couldn’t see them,

‘Yeah, right! So I didn’t give a long, embarrassing speech for winning the “Whitest Sneakers Award”?’ She mentally cringed, remembering it and her loud cheer at the end. Jim couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘I’d describe it more as touching, really.’

‘Ugh, see?’ And Pam meant to be and sound embarrassed, but there had always been something about Jim’s laugh – it was infectious. So she couldn’t help but laugh along with him at her own misfortune. ‘Just… take me through what I did, ok? Just to see if I’m remembering my humiliation correctly.’ _And to check if I really did – totally unwittingly – come into contact with your lips last night_.

‘Relax, Beesly, it wasn’t that humiliating.’ She did feel herself relax a bit, but her guard was still up. If there was one thing she could count on Jim for, it was honesty. ‘Well, let’s see… You cheered Michael on after some guys heckled him, so that will probably motivate him to keep the Dundies going forever, thank you for that; You got the “Whitest Sneakers Award”, and I’d polish off those Keds, if I were you, show them a little love for everything they’ve given you; You gave the aforementioned moving speech, wherein you lovingly thanked Michael, Dwight, and God; You fell out of your chair, so I’d check for a concussion, if I were you; and you got kicked out of Chili’s for life. Not just the restaurant, the whole chain, which I think is actually very impressive.’ Pam laughed along with Jim at her drunken adventures, his tales thankfully corresponding with her memories, and a weight started to lift off her chest.

‘And that’s it?’ she attempted to confirm one last time. If Jim didn’t bring up the kiss, it clearly either hadn’t happened, or it hadn’t mattered to either of them. If it didn’t matter, there would be no need to be a big deal, right? Or any deal!

Jim hesitated a bit before answering, but Pam kept on the line, expectant. He was probably going over the events of last night, figuring out if he’d mentioned everything that was worth mentioning. When he finally did speak, it was slightly more serious than their conversation had been so far.

‘Yeah, that’s pretty much it. The highlights, anyway. I didn’t keep a tab of every drink you stole off of other people’s tables.’ And just like that, he was being funny Jim again. And the weight fully lifted off Pam’s shoulders. Right. It didn’t matter. So, neither had to mention it. ‘Cause it was nothing, really, so it didn’t matter.

‘Oh, God, that’s right.’ She picked up the conversation, trying to inflate her voice with the right amount of mortification despite her mind being occupied covering a completely different topic. ‘Well, then, I guess it wasn’t that bad.’

‘No, it wasn’t.’ he reassured her once again, and the smile was evident in his voice.

‘Nothing to regret.’ Pam tried to check, one final time, since she wouldn’t just come right out and say something if he didn’t want her to.

‘Yeah…’ Jim at last confirmed, and that was that. Back to normal. Like nothing happened, because nothing did happen. A small smile made his way to Pam’s face. She was glad to be able to go past what she remembered, and back to normal, but… A small part of her had wanted Jim to bring it up. She wasn’t sure why, but while her first instinct was to ignore something that small and meaningless, there was a voice at the back of her mind that was saying _Shouldn’t you talk about it? Don’t you want to know his side? Don’t you want to ask him what you almost asked him last night? If you should really marry-_

No. She shut up those thoughts. It was beginning to be a usual thing with her. But it was normal, right? Everyone had thoughts. Wedding jitters. It was normal, it was meant to happen. And the fact that they tended to happen while Jim was around… Well, that was just because he was best friend, and she could talk to him about anything, right?

‘Now.’ She said, changing the subject, both in the conversation and in her own mind. ‘I’ve seriously got to get some aspirin.’ It was time to do what she’d intended when she first got up. Some water, a shower, fresh clothes, and putting last night behind her.

‘Yeah, sure. I just wanted to see if you were okay and everything, so…’ His own voice betrayed the same feeling Pam shared, of wanting to end this conversation.

‘Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for checking. See you Monday?’

‘See you Monday.’

And that would have to be that. For now, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I was just wondering what Jim and Pam's (sober) reactions to that kiss would be. Sure, you could just say they next saw each other in the office on Monday, but where's the fun in that? Also, I really like the idea that Jim would be considerate enough to call her the next morning. I also took the opportunity to explore a little bit of Pam's thoughts on their situation, as well as what I think it was she was about to ask him at the end of the episode.
> 
> Btw, guys, this was slightly influenced by the podcast Office Ladies, which is a MUST for any and all The Office fans! Go check it out if you haven't already! If you have, feel free to tell me in the comments what you think!


End file.
